Hyper-Casual Trend Digest #18
Hi everyone! So many things happened last month, and we're excited to share all the updates with you in this new edition of Trend Digest!
HYPER NEWS ??
Gaming funding rebounds with $265 million invested globally in Q1, signaling renewed investor confidence. Major investments by firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Bitkraft Ventures, alongside significant funding rounds for gaming startups, indicate a resurgence in the industry.
LinkedIn is officially launching three new games—Queens, Crossclimb, and Pinpoint—to increase user engagement. These games offer puzzles and trivia challenges similar to popular word and logic games. With an aim to foster closer connections among users, LinkedIn sees these games as a way to expand its engagement beyond professional networking.
Discord is set to introduce ads on its platform as it seeks to diversify its revenue streams through advertising. These ads will appear as part of Discord's 'Sponsored Quest' system, where users can complete in-game tasks while their friends watch. The ads will be targeted based on users' age, gameplay, and location.
ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, faces mounting challenges in both the US and the EU. In the US, a new bill mandates ByteDance to sell TikTok to an American company within nine months or face a national ban, citing concerns over data privacy. Meanwhile, in the EU, TikTok's Lite rewards program is at risk of a ban due to concerns about its addictive nature, especially among children.
ByteDance experienced a remarkable surge in profits in China, surpassing competitors like Tencent and Alibaba. Despite a pullback from gaming ventures, ByteDance's profits rose by approximately 60% in 2023, with revenues soaring from $80 billion to $120 billion year-on-year. This success, primarily driven by TikTok's expansion, underscores ByteDance's strategic shift towards its core business and away from gaming.
The recently launched Delta game emulator, capitalizing on Apple's relaxed App Store regulations, has become the top download in 35 countries.
What's new in Apple's lawsuits?
And some fresh stats for you ?? :
HYPER TRENDS ?????
Time for movies and TV series
Let's start with the movie everyone's buzzing about on TikTok: Challengers! Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O'Connor star in not just a tennis story, but something much bigger. If you don’t believe it, just check out the #challengers tag on TikTok. Trust us, you’ll be impressed :)
The Fall Guy is a movie about a down-and-out stuntman who must find the missing star of his ex-girlfriend's blockbuster film. The film stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt.
Guy Ritchie's new movie, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, is based on recently declassified files from the British War Department and inspired by true events. This action-comedy tells the story of the first-ever special forces organization formed during WWII by UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a small group of military officials.
Abigail, a horror story about a 12-year-old ballerina, might not have the highest viewer ratings, but it definitely deserves attention. It's one of the few movies on our list with good box office results.
领英推荐
Trends on YouTube, TikTok, Imgur, etc.?
The most remarkable trend last month was all about the solar eclipse. From the anticipation in March to the flood of videos and memes in April, it captured everyone's attention. Here are some of them for you.
This trend focuses on various types of arguments.
This ironic trend about annoying situations is a parody, a classic move by Gen Z, often used to critique other very sensitive and melancholic TikTok trends.
And finally, here’s just a compilation of other popular videos.
New TikTok effects
Here are some really popular TikTok effects trending right now.
Trend-based projects?
And, as usual, a few games based on trending mechanics.